The award recognizes and honors a ski resort employee, past or present, who has made significant contributions to the “outside operations” of their resort.

The conference was attended by more than 330 individuals from the ski and snowboard industry in the Pacific Northwest.

Toney was recognized for her leadership of the ski patrol and risk management departments with professionalism and excellence, according to the award citation. Through her leadership of these departments, Meadows has put in place state-of-the-art patrol and medical facilities on mountain and in the base area, including an M105 howitzer installation on Shooting Star ridge for avalanche mitigation work above Heather Canyon, and a full medical treatment clinic in the base area.

Even more significantly, Toney has consistently raised the training and performance standards for the Meadows ski patrol. Toney’s career at Meadows started in 1997 as a ski patroller.

The Industrial Strength award recipient was Michael Weise, from Leitner Poma of America. This award is to recognize and honor an individual who is not an employee of a ski resort, but has made a valuable contribution to the Pacific Northwest industry. Weise received this award in part because he has always been available and eager to share his knowledge and experience with everyone in the industry. He especially makes time for teaching new mechanics and lift operations staff.

The Forest Service Partner of the Year recipient is Mike Lane, member of the National Ropeway Services Team, U.S. Forest Service. Lane is a critical link between lift manufacturers and the Forest Service nationally as well as regionally. His knowledge and expertise in design approval and structural integrity for all new ski lifts is unquestioned. Lane is an experienced inspector who has a keen attention to detail.

The Pacific Northwest Ski Areas Association is a non-profit trade association, which represents the interests of 34 facilities located in Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, western Montana and northern California. The association’s member ski areas, most of which operate on public land, collectively host an estimated 5.5 million visits annually.